Football: Royals (4-0) shut down Buffalo 30-3

The Rogers Royals used back-to-back interceptions early in the game to take command, and defeated the Buffalo Bison 30-3 at home Friday night.

Rogers (4-0), ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, gave up an early field goal and otherwise stymied the Bison (2-2), who had been averaging 41 points per game.

“Buffalo has very good skill position players, and we were extremely concerned going in,” said Rogers coach Marc Franz. “We took care of the ball and they had four turnovers. Holding them to three points was very impressive.

Linebackers Mitch O’Neill and Josh Melin intercepted passes, both of them after linebacker Austin Derouin deflected the ball, and in both cases returned the ball inside the Bufalo 10. The Royals converted one of them into a touchdown but came up empty on the other.

Rogers also recovered two fumbles, and had just one turnover themselves, a fumble late in the game.

In the first quarter, Matt Weber connected with wide receiver Andrew Smith for a 33-yard touchdown, and Jack McGuire bolted 25 yards for another score.

Weber’s one-yard sneak in the second period and a 21-yard field goal by Mitch Gruppa made it 23-3 at halftime. Kyle Williams closed the scoring win seven-yard trek in the third quarter.

Rogers, which shares the Mississippi 8 lead with Elk River at 3-0, will travel to Sartell-St. Stephen for a non-conference game Friday. The Sabres are 1-3.